So here are my top ten tips to give you a place to start, and a map to follow, and a guide to get you home during your revisions.
1. It’s all about the story. No matter how much you may like a scene or a line, if it doesn’t serve the story it has to go. Check each scene against the core conflict and make sure it advances it in some way, no matter how small.
2. Layer it. Trying to edit the entire manuscript at once can be overwhelming. Edit in layers, focusing on one thing at a time (by chapter or the entire book) so you can focus and not get distracted.
3. Check your goals and motivations. Characters without strong goals and motivations driving the story can lead to weak stories. Make sure every character is acting with purpose, and not just doing what plot tells them to.
4. Check your character and story arcs. Is everything leading toward the exciting climax or do storylines go astray? Do characters grow or are they the same at the end? Arcs that advance and grow give the sense that the story is progressing, which helps keeps readers interested.
5. Make sure it’s dire. Stakes are vital to hold attention and keep readers wanting to know what happens next. Make sure your protag has a lot to lose if they don’t solve their problem.
6. Separate people. It’s easy to switch who says what during revisions, so go back and make sure you have individual voices for all your characters, especially your main ones. If you can’t tell who is speaking by how they say it, you might want to tweak further.
7. Know your weak spots. We all have words we like to use or things we do that we know we need to cut. Hunt down the mistakes you know are there.
8. Getting from here to there. Bad transitions can leave a reader confused, so make sure you switch smoothly and clearly when changing scenes, locations, and POVs.
9. Bury the backstory. Backstory creeps in on a first draft all the time, because we’re often still trying to figure it all out ourselves. Look for those sneaky bits and find a way to include the info in ways that don’t stop the story. If you can’t, cut it.
10. Don’t be afraid to cut. A lot of unnecessary information finds its way into a story because we’re uncertain if what we mean is getting across. Trust your reader to get it, and don’t beat them over the head when it’s clear what’s going on.
How do you feel about revision? What are some of your "must do" revisions tips?
13 comments:
Aside from critters and maybe a beta reader or two, my "must do" steps include a round of searching for junk words and repeated phrases with the aid of software, and a round of reading my draft aloud, highlighter in hand.
These are all great tips. Sometimes I do a revision focusing on one main weakness, like character count. Or cutting out unnecessary words using your list of words to avoid (though you can't always not use them). And I'm being committed to not being afraid to cut unnecessary scenes. I think fear of doing that resulted in more revisions than necessary of my first (learning) manuscript.
I'm revising right now (actually just finishing up). And I know there will be a couple more drafts to go, but all of this is good!
Great post!
Great easy points to follow. Thanks Janice. My question is when to get beta readers in? When the whole thing's finished? I've heard some author's shooting off chapters to read as they are written? I wouldn't feel confident doing that until I am 100% sure how the plot's playing. Are readers just for micro-criticisms? And a critique group for macro? Joe, Natalie, Susan have you had your WIP out to betas already even as you are revising?
Rewrites and revisions are like setting a broken leg - absolutely necessary and yet so very painful. Unfortunately they last much longer...so much longer. :P
Elizabeth, in my mind, Critters are people who read my manuscripts in small bursts and give me detailed feedback on issues from small to big, and Beta Readers are people who get the whole manuscript once it's complete, read it from beginning to end, and give me thoughts on "big picture" issues. But I'm sure that's not universal or anything. Critters can help me spot when I've run off course, but I don't like to give the same material to the same person to read more than once, because they can't then come to it with a fresh mind--they can't "unknow" things I may have revealed in an earlier draft. So that's why I think it's worthwhile to have people who can read at both stages of the process.
Joe, I have a few friends who read aloud, and they say it's very helpful. I might have to try it myself.
Natalie, I love revision focus. I've found that very helpful myself. It's too easy to get caught up in something else and miss stuff. Grats on cutting those scenes!
Susan, thanks! Good luck :)
Elizabeth, it's really up to you and what you want. Some writers don't want any feedback until they work it all out themselves, others like input from the start. I have two groups I work with. One is an in-progress group that helps with macro issues and brainstorming as I write that first draft, the other is a finished and polished group that tears into the whole piece at macro and micro levels once it's as good as I cam make it. I have a nice mix of betas that look at a wide variety of issues. If you know what type of feedback you want, you can find folks to offer that.
Amelia, they can be. I do enjoy them, but I know so many who don't. And then there are those books that you want to set fire to, even if you DO like revisions. (I'm look at you Blue Fire)
I'm revising now - my focus - cutting unnecessary words, using specific verbs, adding emotions and description to scenes. I've switched some scenes around and have cut some. One thing that makes cutting easier is the word document that I keep called "Cut scenes." I cut and past what I want to remove and keep it there. That way, if I want to restore a scene or use it elsewhere, I haven't lost my hard work.
Have a blessed day.
Wow, this is great! I'm saving this post for when I get to revisions, which will be pretty soon. :) I also love revising and editing. It's terribly hard for me to read anything without tweaking it.
Thanks Joe and Janice for the info. Like the idea of the Critters!
Heather, the cut scene file is a lifesaver. I do that myself. Makes it a lot easier to cut.
Kaitlin, same here :)
Elizabeth D, most welcome! Critters was very helpful to me when I first started putting my work out there.
While editing the latest draft of my WIP, I cut a whole subplot that wasn't working out, about 10,000 words in total. I really liked those scenes, and I think it would have been harder to delete them if I hadn't put the manuscript aside for a couple of months before editing it. I think creating that distance helped me approach the story with a fresh eye.
Wendy, setting a book aside between drafts is so helpful for exactly those reasons. Crit groups are good for that, since they take the book away from you for a while. Grats on cutting that subplot!
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